She said when her PDP was established in 1999, the party had made it clear that without talking to Pakistan no solution of Kashmir issue is possible. “It was the time when some politicians here would say that Pakistani Kashmir should be bombed but we advocated for the dialogue,” she said.

President Ram Nath Kovind signed the proclamation paving the way for imposition of central rule in the state which plunged into a political crisis in June after the BJP withdrew support to the PDP government led by Mehbooba Mufti.

Lone was referring to the Twitter exchanges between former CMs Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti on the eve of the dissolution of the J&K Assembly on November 22, when the two leaders had tweeted on the episode with sharp humorous overtones.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Shaleen Kabra said the state recorded over 75 per cent of polling as 3.20 lakh electorate exercised their franchise in the third phase of the panchayat elections on Saturday.

The senior BJP leader also alleged that his party is being dragged into the controversy, saying "It was a decision taken by the governor. The BJP has no role. It is unfortunate that some section is trying to drag the BJP into this.”